A comprehensive dictionary of organ stops - Allen Organ Studio of ...

DICTIONARY OF ORGAN STOPS. 145
8 ft.; a pedal Contrabass, 16 ft., employed as portion of the 32 ft., and
'Cello, 8 ft. The Flutes, the Violine, and the pedal stop are effective, but
the others are not very satisfactory. In both these instruments the power
of the full organ is due mainly to the manual and pedal Tubas, voiced on
Willis lines, and—though only on 9 in. wind in the one organ, and 1 1 in.
in the other—of prodigious power. Messrs. Telford have introduced into
the organ built by them at Letterkenny Cathedral, Ireland (1900), a Flute
and a Gamba of the Stentorphon class. The Flute measures CC, 7 in.,
and the Gamba CC, 3f in. They are bearded.
From the above criticisms it will be evident that in full organ, and
when well covered with powerful reed work, the effect of these stops is
satisfactory enough. But for individual or ordinary combinational use
—with the possible exception of the Flute and pedal varieties—they are
altogether too coarse and hard in tone. Moreover, Stentorphon stops are
terrible wind gourmands. Tone sufficiently massive and pervading to
satisfy the requirements of large buildings, albeit essentially musical and
free from coarseness, can be obtained by the employment of large-scaled
stops with leathered lips (see Leathered Lip). There would seem little
objection to the use of one or two stops of the Stentorphon class in an
organ of the first magnitude, but the purpose for which they were pro-
fessedly designed—that of securing prodigious power from small organs
is false, fatally false, in principle. The result savours too palpably of the
deux ex machina. As was pointed out under Diapason (Section 3), organ
tone cannot satisfactorily be built up by the mere conglomeration of a few
stops of extreme tone. True, much can be done by the use of the afore-
said leathered stops to render moderate-sized instruments more effective
than they usually are. In spite of the fact that these stops are deceptive
in tone, and are, in effect, much more powerful than they would
at first seem to be, even they, nevertheless, demand extreme care in their
treatment—much more Stentorphons. Herr Weigle's patent rights in
England for the Stentorphon class of register are now owned by Herr
Laukhuff, of Wiekersheim, the well-known pipe maker. See also Solo,
DOPPELFLOTE.
Stern—See Cimbalstern.
Still—(Ger.) = quiet.
A prefix implying softness of tone, the reverse of stark.
Still-Gedackt— 8 ft., 4 ft.
A quiet-toned Gedeckt.
Stopped.
A prefix denoting that the pipes of the stop to which it is attached are
closed at the top with a stopper. But see Gedeckt.
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